Jan 16th - Stocks To Watch Construction and property stocks, Pestech, Ekovest, PA Resources, IOI Prop, CIMB

by **Cals** Wed 15 Jan 2014, 23:17

Stocks To Watch Construction and property stocks, Pestech, Ekovest, PA Resources, IOI Prop, CIMB

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com

Wednesday, 15 January 2014 21:27

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): Based on news flow up to 7.30 pm today, the following stocks may come on investors’ radar tomorrow (Jan 16):

Construction and property stocks may attract some interest after the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)’s announcement today that it will call for tenders next month for phase one of its Sungai Buloh development, projected to generate RM50 billion in gross development value over 20 years.

The entire project covers a land area of 932 ha (or 2,330 acres) in Sungai Buloh.

EPF, which is undertaking the project via wholly-owned unit Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd, said the master plan for the proposed township of Kwasa Damansara has been presented to the Selangor government for evaluation and approval.

In a statement, Mohd Lotfy Mohd Noh, managing director of Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd, said as master developer, Kwasa Land intends “to work with the best and most experienced developers.”

Lotfy said the township is positioned as a transport-oriented development with three tiers of developers set up to exercise the widest range of development opportunities.

Kwasa Land is projecting land sales revenue of approximately RM11 billion for 1,350 acres to public limited companies, government-linked companies, private developers as well as Bumiputera developers.

The entire township will be developed into eight precints, each having its own urban design guidelines. There will be multiple MRT stations, access to four highways and the KTM commuter service.

Pestech International Bhd has secured a RM84.98 million electricity-transmission contract from Sarawak Energy Bhd.

In a statement to the exchange today, Pestech said the contract involves the construction, testing and commissioning of Sarawak Energy's Mambong and Entinggan 275 kV substation extension in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.

"The project serves as a critical interconnection point for electric power export from Sarawak to West Kalimantan, Indonesia and to improve the reliability and security of the 275kV electrical-transmission network around Kuching.

"The project is expected to commence on 20 January 2014 for completion within 23 months from the commencement date," Pestech said.

The firm said the contract will contribute positively to Pestech's future earnings and net assets per share.

Ekovest Bhd announced that its 60%-owned unit, Ekovest-MRCB Construction Sdn Bhd, has been awarded a DBKL contract worth RM130 million to beautify some parts of Kuala Lumpur.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, it said: “Ekovest-MRCB has accepted a letter of award from DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall) for the proposed improvement and beautification works at Precinct 7.”

The company said: “Precinct 7 is one of eleven precincts along the 10.7 km River of Life project.

“The total contract sum for the works is RM130 million and the completion period for the works is 104 weeks from the date of site possession… the works is expected to be completed in 2016.”

The award for the contract is expected to contribute positively to its future earnings.

P.A. Resources Bhd annouced that its wholly owned unit PA Solar Energy Sdn Bhd. has been awarded a contract by Synergy Generated Sdn Bhd worth RM36 million.

The turnkey contract is for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a 5MW solar photovoltaic farm project at Sg. Bari, Setiu, Terengganu.

The project is for the renewable energy generating station at the site for the employer, the company told Bursa Malaysia.

The contract is expected to commence on 15 January 2014 for completion within 6 months.

It is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets of the PARB group for the current and upcoming financial year ending 31 March 2014.

IOI Properties Group Bhd closed at RM3.15, after making an impressive debut on the stock exchange. The stock had earlier jumped as much as 70 sen or 28% from its IPO price of RM2.51.

It had earlier hit an intraday high of RM3.56, compared to its reference price of RM2.51.

At the 5pm market close, the stock jumped 64 sen or 25% to close at RM3.15. The second top gainer was also among the top actives, with heavy trades of some 66 million shares.

While Kenanga Research has given the stock a target price (TP) of RM3.68, Hong Leong Investment Bank has given it a TP of RM4.01 per share.

According to UOB KayHian Research, IOI Properties has its future earnings intact given its pipeline of township development launches coming on stream over the next three years.

The research house said the former property arm of IOI Corporation Bhd will be shielded from the negative impact of property cooling measures.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s shares closed down 20 sen or 2.7% at RM7.10 after it said it is raising RM3.55 billion via sale of new shares. Analysts said there will be earnings dilution in the group.

The placement was a surprise as CIMB had earlier informed analysts it would rely on its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) to gradually build its CET-1 ratio to 10% by 2015.

Some analysts interpret the capital raising now as a proactive move by CIMB to brace for possible difficult times ahead in its regional ventures.

It is unsure whether the sell-down today will continue tomorrow. If unloading of the share is seen as overdone and the stock is seen as undervalued, there may be a rebound in share price tomorrow.